Blue Mass

[Eva Elisabeth]

(05-05-2014 08:06 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  I wonder if the treatment did indeed alter Lincoln's moods- maybe permanently. I wonder how the medical community thought mercury was helpful? Maybe on some level it was?

(Don't know what the medical community thought, my humble assumption is so far as follows: ) Chronic mercury poisoning can cause numerous symptoms and health effects (as well-known due to the dental amalgam controversy), especially on the central nervous system (mercury interferes with nerve impulse transmission in the brain as it prevents impulses to spark properly across the synapses) - including causing depressions.
IMO, thus if Lincoln took blue mass to cure depressions he might have thrown out the baby with the bath water and even increased or triggered his depressions. Despite that AFAIK mercury can as well cause gastrointestinal effects - such as constipation...

I, too, would like to learn the professionals' opinions.